1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to methods and systems for linking information between different parties/nodes in a global computer network. More specifically, this invention relates to methods and systems for storing, retrieving and linking consumer information across the Internet.
2. Description of the Related Art
Several companies are utilizing the power of the Internet to amass and provide information on consumers to various companies. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,948,061 to Merriman discloses a system for displaying custom advertising on Internet pages. The disclosed system utilizes a redirect or hidden connection feature built into the Internet Protocol (IP) network Hypertext Transport protocol (HTTP). In Merriman, a merchant site redirects a consumer browser to an advertising server by placing an advertisement that is stored on the advertising server onto the merchant page. Once the consumer browser accesses the merchant page, the browser is redirected or establishes a hidden temporary connection to the advertising server so that the advertisement can be retrieved. Once the browser is connected to the advertising server, the advertising server reads any of its Internet cookies that have been previously stored on the consumer""s computer. If a cookie is found, the advertising server then performs one or more of the following tasks:
Looks up a Consumer Identification String stored in the cookie with the advertising server""s merchant site consumer history database,
Determines the consumer""s web browsing preferences,
Determines which of the ad banners that the advertising server is licensed to place will most likely appeal to the current consumer,
Updates the consumer""s cookies with any new information
Redirects or connects the consumer browser back to the merchant server,
Provides the merchant address with the Internet address of the advertising banner determined to be preferred by the consumer,
Updates the advertising server with new information on the consumer history database,
Updates the advertising banner read or placed database to indicate that the advertisement was displayed on the merchant""s Internet page.
Unfortunately, the type of information that is made available to the merchant server is very limited. For example, in these systems, the only information available is that which has been stored in the merchant""s consumer file and the cross-session advertising consumer preference information obtained from third party advertising servers.
For this reason, there is an existing need for merchants and advertisers to be provided with systems and methods that provide information outside this limited universe. This need will become more prevalent as the Internet becomes more widely used in the home and for businesses.
One embodiment of the invention is a computerized information system for retrieving consumer data over a network that includes: a consumer network interface device; a first information server for receiving a consumer identifier; a Linkage Key conversion module comprising instructions for converting said consumer identifier into a Linkage Key; a Linkage Key database comprising consumer data indexed by said Linkage Key; and instructions for comparing said Linkage Key to said linkage database in order to retrieve consumer data from said linkage database.
Another embodiment of the invention is a wide area network system for capturing consumer data. This embodiment provides: a first server comprising first commands that are executed in response to a request for an Internet page component, wherein execution of said first commands results in storing a unique consumer identifier on a consumer computer; and a second server comprising second commands that are executed in response to a consumer accessing a merchant server, said second commands performing a method comprising:
receiving a unique merchant identifier from said merchant server;
reading said unique consumer identifier from said consumer computer;
accessing consumer data based on said unique consumer identifier; and
transmitting said consumer data and said unique merchant identifier to said merchant server.
Yet another embodiment is a wide area network system for providing consumer data to a merchant that includes: a first information server in communication with a first merchant server, said first information server configured to store a cookie data file comprising a consumer identifier on a consumer computer after said consumer computer has accessed said first merchant server; and said first information server being in communication with a second merchant server, said first information server comprising: a first memory comprising consumer identifiers and corresponding merchant identifiers, and a database of consumer data indexed by said consumer identifier, wherein said first information server is configured so that, in response to said consumer computer accessing said second merchant server, said cookie data file is read and said consumer data and corresponding merchant identifiers are transmitted from said database to said second merchant server.
Still another embodiment of the invention is a system for providing consumer data to a network node, comprising: an interactive voice response interface for receiving voice commands and converting the voice commands into an input variable; a conversion module comprising instructions for converting said input variable into a Linkage Key; instructions for comparing said Linkage Key to a Linkage Key database in order to retrieve said consumer data relating to said variable; and a second module comprising instructions for transmitting said consumer data to said network node.
An additional embodiment is a method for providing a merchant with consumer information. This method includes: capturing consumer data being transmitted from a consumer computer to a first merchant server; writing a unique consumer identifier to said consumer computer, wherein said consumer identifier is based on said consumer data; providing a second merchant server with an Internet page component, wherein transmission of said page component to said consumer computer allows said information server to read said unique consumer identifier; and providing consumer information to said second merchant server based on said unique identifier.
One further embodiment is a method in an information server for determining the mailing address of a consumer that includes: capturing a unique consumer identifier from said consumer as it is being transmitted to a first merchant server; writing said unique consumer identifier to said consumer computer; receiving a request from said consumer computer to transmit an Internet page component that was referenced on a second merchant server; responsive to said request, reading said unique consumer identifier from said consumer computer; accessing a database of consumer address information using said consumer identifier; and transmitting the mailing address of said consumer computer to said second merchant server.